Chess from the Fire: The Making of A. J. Fink

by Neil Brennen

The fate of the minor master has traditionally been historical
oblivion. The injunction "minor master, minor work"
acts as a deterrent to potential researchers. Yet there are
many such minor figures worth exploring, and much interesting
material, both chess and non-chess in nature, may emerge. One
such neglected figure is A. J. Fink, an internationally-known
chess problem composer and a landmark figure in California
chess. The following brief account of Fink's youth as a
chessplayer is designed to whet the appetite for any
prospective researchers.

Adolph J. Fink was born July 19, 1890 in San Francisco. According to an
autobiography published in the chess column of the Pittsburgh
Gazette-Times on June 11, 1916, Fink became "interested in
checkers and chess a few months before the earthquake and conflagration
that played havoc with the Western metropolis. After the 'quake we (my
folks and I) sought refuge on the hills and camped as thousands did.
It was during this time that the study of both games commenced, but
chess proved the more fascinating, perhaps on account of its intricate
movements..."

When San Francisco began the task of rebuilding itself
after the fire, the teenage Adolph Fink likewise began
to build his game. Fink wrote that he "learned
the openings, etc., and improved my play by joining the
Mechanics' Institute, where I have since won several
prizes, the foremost being first in the 1913
tournament." Fink included two games in his
biographical sketch, but didn't mention where or when
they were played. The name of the well-known San
Francisco master Walter Lovegrove as an opponent
implies they were both played in the Bay area,
perhaps in the Mechanics' Institute tournament Fink won.
Regardless of the lack of information on their province,
we should be grateful for more historical material on
chess in the Bay area.

But it wasn't just in tournament play that Fink forged
his game. In the Gazette-Times piece, he described
himself as "fairly successful in the telegraph
matches with Los Angeles, and masters I have met include
Capablanca, Marshall, and Kostic, a draw from each in
simultaneous play."

In the case of the draw with Capablanca, Fink had to
survive the Cuban's version of the classic "Greek
gift" Bishop sacrifice on h7.

While Fink was learning the trade of a chess master
through the fire of competitive play, he was also
developing his interest in chess problem composition.
"The art of composing", Fink wrote in his Pittsburgh
Gazette-Times autobiography, "took place about the
year 1908. My first effort.... has two pure mates and a changed
mate, and I knew nothing of problem terms then." The key
to the problem, the "first effort" Fink wrote of, is
at the end of this article.

A. J. Fink - Mate in 2

Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, June 11, 1916; first
published St. Paul Dispatch, 1908

Fink stated he had composed "to date about
180" problems, but he "never kept a complete
file, only recording 75, which I took to be my better
work." The problemist added that he had won
"about 20" prizes for composition, mainly
from the American Chess Bulletin, the Good Companion
Chess Club of Philadelphia, and the Pittsburgh
Gazette-Times. He gave the following two move mate
as an example of his favorite style of chess problem,
what he described as a "complex two-mover".
This problem was dedicated by Fink to "the P. G.
T. family", the term "family" being
Gazette-Times chess editor Howard Dolde's
description of the regular problem solvers and composers
who submitted material to his column.

A. J. Fink - Mate in 2

Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, June 11, 1916

As we have seen, there is ample scope for a fuller
treatment of A. J. Fink, should someone take up the
task of research. Then, perhaps, we shall enjoy a
detailed study of the chessmaster forged from the Fire.